Withnail and I is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann) who live in a squalid flat in Camden Town in 1969 while waiting for their careers to take off. Needing a holiday, they obtain the key to a country cottage in The Lake District belonging to Withnail's lecherous gay uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) and drive there. The holiday is less recuperative than they expected.

Withnail & I was Grant’s first film and launched him into a successful career. The film also featured performances by Richard Griffiths as Withnail’s Uncle Monty and Ralph Brown as Danny the drug dealer. The film has tragic and comic elements (particularly farce) and is notable for its period music and many quotable lines. It has been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".[3]

Contents

The film depicts the lives and misadventures of two "resting" (struggling and unemployed) young actor friends in late-1969 London. They are the flamboyant alcoholic Withnail and "I" (named "Marwood" in the published screenplay but not in the credits) as his more level-headed, anxiety-prone, and ennui-crippled friend and the film's narrator. Withnail is filled with indignation over life’s injustices, despite his privileged background. He rages against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune all the more because he blames others for the adverse consequences of his exuberant arrogance, flagrant narcissism and habitual lying, alcoholism, and drug use. Withnail sets the tone for the friendship, with Marwood going along with whatever Withnail wants to do. They live in a filthy Georgian flat in Camden Town. While they wait for a part, daily life revolves around getting coins to use in the meters that provide gas or electricity, going to collect benefits, and waiting for the pubs to open so they can drink and be somewhere with heating. Their only other company at the flat besides each other is the local drug dealer, Danny; a somewhat distasteful man with far out, often bizarre viewpoints on the current state of affairs and a knack for irritating Withnail.

The film begins with Marwood smoking in the darkened flat. When he has finished he goes to a café and reads disturbing articles in a newspaper. Marwood suffers an anxiety attack and returns home, where Withnail complains about having recently run out of wine, ignoring Marwood's plight and reading to him from the newspaper, rambling as he does so. Withnail becomes annoyed with Marwood drinking coffee from a bowl with a spoon, and Marwood retorts that they have no more clean cups, backhandedly complaining that Withnail never does the washing up, which angers Withnail further. Following an abortive attempt by the pair to do the washing up, Withnail decides that they should go for a walk.

Out in Regent's Park, Withnail complains about his lack of success, pointing out that Marwood has recently had an audition while he himself has had nothing close to work, to which Marwood offers vague reassurances, claiming that things will get better. Withnail also complains of feeling unwell, so Marwood suggests they go away to the countryside to convalesce, though Withnail is sceptical of the idea, and is quick to point out that they lack the funds to follow through with the idea. Soon after, whilst in a pub, Marwood remembers Withnail's uncle Monty, who has a countryside cottage near Penrith, and Withnail agrees to call him, arranging to visit that evening. Marwood suffers another attack of anxiety in the pub after being insulted by a large and belligerent Irishman, and Withnail is quick to distance himself from Marwood in the hopes of avoiding being attacked himself, but the pair flee together when becomes clear that Withnail is as much a target of the man's rage as Marwood. Back in the flat, Withnail and Marwood prepare for their visit to Monty, while their drug dealer Danny has come over to keep out of the cold. Though Marwood tells Danny that they're not looking to buy anything, Withnail quickly gets into an argument with Danny over who could take the most drugs, though nothing comes of it as Withnail refuses to buy drugs off of Danny to prove himself.

Withnail and Marwood visit Monty that evening at his large luxurious Chelsea house in which he resides (West House, Glebe Place), where his only companion is a large chocolate Persian cat with which he is seen constantly arguing. Monty is an aesthete, melodramatic, and nostalgic for what he sees as a by-gone age of beauty and poetic friendship among young men, and it is immediately apparent to Marwood that he is also a homosexual. The three briefly drink together in Monty's parlour, during which time Withnail casually lies to Monty, claiming that his career as an actor is going well, and he hopes soon to play with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which causes Monty to begin reminiscing his time in Oxford and then his own minor acting career in his youth, saying that 'it is the most shattering experience of a young man's life when one morning he awakes and quite reasonably says to himself "I will never play the Dane"', to which Withnail claims that Hamlet is the part he aims to play. Monty is an old boy of Harrow School, and it is suggested that Withnail is one too, and when asking where Marwood schooled, Withnail again lies, telling Monty that Marwood went to "the other place" (i.e. Eton). Shortly becoming distressed by his cat, Monty asks the two to leave, but Withnail asks for a private word, and reappears shortly to Marwood with the key to the country cottage. Withnail defends his lie about Eton as being necessary to get the cottage.

Withnail and Marwood get into Marwood’s battered Jaguar Mark 2, which is parked next to a scene of demolition of some old houses (significant for the time period) and set off north along the motorway. The holiday doesn’t quite go according to plan: although the countryside is beautiful, the weather is cold and often inclement, the cottage is run-down and dusty, they have little in the way of food or supplies and the locals are surly and unwelcoming – in particular a poacher, Jake, whom Withnail manages to swiftly offend, and who threatens Withnail in return, and letting the pair know that he knows the cottage in which they're staying. Withnail also phones his agent from Penrith, but is annoyed to learn that no work has been found for him, other than understudyingKonstantin, which he refuses to do, demanding to know why he can't play the part. Withnail's anger turns to fear the following day, when Withnail and Marwood see Jake prowling around their cottage as they're returning from a walk. Marwood suggests they leave for London the following day, and Withnail in turn demands that they share a bed that night, in the interest of safety, though Marwood refuses. Despite this, during the night, a frightened Withnail climbs in to the guest bedroom's single bed with Marwood, which prompts Marwood to angrily leave, and take the master double bed, until the sounds of an intruder breaking into the cottage prompt Withnail to again follow Marwood, who this time does not rebuff Withnail. The two are terrified, believing the trespasser to be Jake, but it soon turns out to be Monty, who has been stranded for "an aeon" with a punctured tyre, and finds the two of them in bed together.

Marwood's relief is short-lived, for although Monty brings them ample supplies of food and wine, and sorely needed expertise at surviving in a countryside cottage, his designs are quickly made clear, and he persistently flirts with Marwood throughout the following day, much to Marwood's discomfort. Marwood tells Monty that he and Withnail must leave for London after dinner, and tells Monty that it's at Withnail's insistence, and although Withnail initially agrees, over dinner he informs Monty that he intends to stay over the weekend, to Monty's delight, and Marwood's chagrin. Marwood tries to insist on leaving, bringing up their fear of Jake, though in front of Monty, Withnail laughs off their earlier terror. The three go for a walk after dinner, and aside from Monty, Marwood demands to have the master bedroom that night, which has a lock, and Withnail agrees, but on the way back, the three spy Jake from afar, again prowling around the cottage. Marwood is elated to see Withnail again afraid, glad of the pretext for returning to London, but is once again disappointed, when upon returning to the cottage they find that Jake has merely left them a poached hare to eat.

An evening poker game turns boozy, and Withnail, in an extremely drunken state, demands to go to bed, and despite Marwood's best efforts ends up being taken to the master bedroom by Monty. Following further bedroom switching, Monty eventually corners Marwood in the guest bedroom, his pleas turning into demands, and proclaiming his desire to "have [him] even if it must be burglary." Terrified, Marwood's insistence that he isn't a homosexual fails to dissuade Monty, and Monty reveals what Withnail told him during their private word that night in Chelsea. Withnail had told Monty that Marwood was a closeted homosexual, that he was ashamed of himself for it, and that Marwood had been arrested for being a "toilet trader". Withnail had also claimed that Marwood was in love with him, but he had turned him down. Marwood turns this around, claiming that Withnail is the ashamed and closeted one, and that the two of them have been in a committed relationship for years. He claims that Withnail is only rejecting him because Monty is around, and that this is the first night that they haven't slept together in years, and that he cannot bring himself to cheat on him. Monty, who believes in love and loyalty, accepts this excuse as the whole truth and apologizes for coming between them. Marwood wakes Withnail, enraged, and demands the master bedroom to himself. Withnail admits to lying to Monty about Marwood's sexuality, calling it a "calculated risk" saying it was necessary to get the cottage, and that he didn't expect Monty to travel so far to be with them.

The next morning, Marwood finds that Monty left for London in the night, and wrote a gracious note of apology and reads it aloud, feeling sympathy for Monty, who writes that he hopes Withnail and Marwood find happiness together. Withnail however, takes no responsibility for the chaos he has caused and is uninterested, commending Monty's taste in wine, and musing on Marwood's hypocrisy in having to lie to Monty about their sexuality as much as he himself did. Marwood begins to distance himself from his friend, and promises that Withnail will to pay for what he has done. Marwood then receives a telegram that confirms that he has a call-back from his prior audition, and he insists that they go back to London immediately despite Withnail's reluctance.

After Withnail (who has no driving licence and is still drunk) tries to "make time" by driving the car while Marwood sleeps, and swerving all over the road, they encounter a police van and eventually pull over for it. Withnail is arrested for driving while intoxicated, and attempts to give them someone else's urine sample from a Fairy Liquid bottle attached by a tube to his penis; a trick suggested to him by Danny before the trip. The pair return to the flat, to find a large man lying in their bath and Danny, who is squatting at the flat, and sleeping in Marwood's bed. Once up, Danny opines that the oncoming end of the 1960s is the end of the "greatest decade in the history of mankind" and that "there are going to be a lot of refugees." Marwood calls his agent and discovers that the production company want him to play the lead part in the play. The three, and Danny's friend Presuming Ed (the man in the bath), get high smoking a "Camberwell carrot" (a huge cannabis joint). Marwood's celebration is abruptly ended when he finds that Danny has been taking their mail, and learned that they have received an eviction notice due to unpaid rent, which Withnail is too high to care about.

Having packed and had a haircut, Marwood prepares to leave for the station. He wants to leave by himself, and is prepared to bid farewell, turning down Withnail's request for one last drink, so Withnail insists upon accompanying him at least part of the way, while drinking from a bottle of Monty's wine: "’53 Margaux, best of the century." Back in Regent's Park and under pouring rain, Marwood tells Withnail to go home, and that he doesn't want him to come to the station. He tells Withnail that he will miss him, and Withnail admits that he will miss him in return. A forlorn and lonely Withnail sincerely reveals himself, declaiming "What a piece of work is a man!" from Act 2 Scene ii of Hamlet to an uncomprehending pack of wolves behind a fence in the adjoining London Zoo, his dreams shattered as he finally realizes that he himself will "never play the Dane".[4] The camera remains still as he turns and walks away into the gloomy distance, swinging the bottle, as the credits start to roll.

The film is an adaptation of an unpublished novel written by Robinson in late 1969. Actor friend Don Hawkins passed a copy of the manuscript to his friend, the wealthy oil heir Moderick Schreiber in 1980. Schreiber, looking to break into the film industry, paid Robinson a few thousand pounds sterling to adapt it into a screenplay, which Robinson did in the early 1980s. On completing the script, producer Paul Heller urged Robinson to direct it and found funding for half the film. The script was then passed to HandMade Films. After he read it, George Harrison agreed to fund the remainder of the film.[5]

Robinson's script is largely autobiographical. "Marwood" is Robinson; "Withnail" is based on Vivian MacKerrell, a friend with whom he shared a Camden house; and "Uncle Monty" is loosely based on Franco Zeffirelli from whom Robinson received unwanted amorous attentions when he was a young actor.[6] He lived in the impoverished conditions seen in the film and wore plastic bags as Wellington boots. For the script, Robinson condensed four or five years of his life into two weeks.

The narrative is told in the first person by the character played by Paul McGann, named just once in passing in the film (see below) as Marwood, and only credited as "I".

The end of the novel saw Withnail committing suicide by pouring a bottle of wine into the barrel of Monty's gun and then pulling the trigger as he drank from it. Robinson changed the ending, as he believed it was "too dark."[8]

Denis O'Brien, who oversaw the filming on behalf of HandMade Films, nearly shut the film down three days into the shoot. He thought that the film had no "discernible jokes" and was badly lit.[9]

The film cost £1.1 million to make. Robinson received £80,000 to direct, £30,000 of which he reinvested into the film to shoot additional scenes such as the journeys to and from Penrith, which HandMade Films would not fund. He was never reimbursed his money after the film's success.[10]

Paul McGann was Robinson's first choice for "I", but he was fired during rehearsals because Robinson decided McGann's Liverpool accent was wrong for the character. Several other actors read for the role, but McGann eventually persuaded Robinson to re-audition him, promising to affect a Home Counties accent. He quickly won back the part.[11]

Actors who were considered for the part of "Withnail" included Daniel Day-Lewis, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh.[9] Robinson claims that he told Richard E. Grant that "half of you has got to go", and put him on a diet to play the part[9][12] although Grant denies this in the 1999 documentary "Withnail and Us". The role of Withnail was Grant's first in film and launched him into a successful career.

Though playing a raging alcoholic, Grant himself is a teetotaller with a health condition preventing him from properly processing alcohol. He had therefore never been drunk prior to making the film. Robinson decided that it would be impossible for Grant to play the character without having ever experienced inebriation and a hangover, and thus "forced" the actor on a drinking binge. Grant has stated that he was "violently sick" after each drink, and found the experience on a whole deeply unpleasant.[13]

During the filming of the scene in which the lighter fluid is consumed, Robinson changed the contents of the can, which had been filled with water, to vinegar. While the vomiting is scripted, the facial expression is totally natural.[14]

The film was not shot entirely on location. There was no filming in the real Penrith, the locations used were in and around nearby Shap and Bampton. Monty's cottage, "Crow Crag", is actually Sleddale Hall, located near the Wet Sleddale Reservoir just outside Shap, although the lake that "Crow Crag" apparently overlooks is actually Haweswater Reservoir.

Sleddale Hall was offered for sale in January 2009;[15] a trust has been created by fans who wish to collectively purchase the building for its preservation as a piece of British film history. It was sold at auction for £265,000 on 16 February 2009. The starting price was £145,000. It was bought by Sebastian Hindley, who owns the Mardale Inn in the nearby village of Bampton, which did not feature in the film. Hindley was unable to raise the necessary finances and in August 2009 the property was resold for an undisclosed sum to Tim Ellis, an architect from Kent, whose original bid failed at the auction.[16]

The bridge where Withnail and Marwood go fishing is located at the bottom of the hill below Sleddale Hall, a quarter of a mile away. The telephone box where Withnail calls his agent is beside the main road in Bampton.[citation needed]

Hertfordshire

Although exterior and ground floor interior shots of Crow Crag were shot at Sleddale Hall, Stockers Farm in Rickmansworth was used for the bedroom and stair scenes. Stockers Farm was also the location for the "Crow and Crown" pub.

Milton Keynes

The "King Henry" pub and the "Penrith Tea Rooms" scenes were filmed in the Market Square in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes at what is now the "Crown Inn" and Cox & Robinsons Chemists.

London

"The Mother Black Cap" pub in the film was in reality the "The Frog and Firkin" pub situated in Tavistock Crescent, Westbourne Green. For some time after the film, it was officially called "The Mother Black Cap". It has since been demolished. Withnail and Marwood's flat was located at 57 Chepstow Place in Bayswater (W2). The shot of them leaving for Penrith as they turn left from the building being demolished was shot on Freston road (W11). The cafe where Marwood has breakfast at the beginning of the film is located at the corner of Ladbroke Grove and Lancaster Road. The scene where Withnail and Marwood are ordered to "get in the back of the van" was filmed on the flyover near John Aird Court, Paddington. The final scene was shot in Regent's Park. Uncle Monty's house is actually the West House, Glebe Place, Chelsea, SW3.

Although the first name of 'I' is not stated anywhere in the film, it is widely believed that it is 'Peter'. This myth arose as a result of a line of misheard dialogue.[17] In the scene where Monty meets the two actors, Withnail asks him if he would like a drink. In his reply, Monty both accepts his offer and says "...you must tell me all the news, I haven't seen you since you finished your last film". While pouring another drink, and downing his own, Withnail replies that he has been "Rather busy uncle. TV and stuff". Then pointing at Marwood he says "He's just had an audition for rep". Some fans hear this line as "Peter's had an audition for rep", although the original shooting script and all commercially published versions of the script read "he's".

The "I" character's name is given as 'Marwood' in the original screenplay. It has been suggested that it is possible that 'Marwood' can be heard near the beginning of the film: As the characters escape from the Irishman in the Mother Black Cap, Withnail shouts "Get out of my way!". Some hear this line as "Out of the way, Marwood!", although the script reads simply "Get out of my way!".

There is, however, one occasion in the film where the name 'Marwood' is given, though not stated. Toward the end of the film a telegram arrives at Crow Crag and as Withnail reads the note, the name 'Marwood' appears to be visible, upside-down, on the envelope. 'I' is now widely accepted as 'Marwood', as this was the name that was used in the script of 'Withnail and I', but due to the fact that the story is told from Marwood's point of view, he is considered as 'I'. In the end credits and most media relating to the film, McGann's character is referenced solely as "...& I."

However, in the supplemental material packaged with the Special Edition DVD in the UK, McGann's character is referred to as Peter Marwood in the cast credits.

The film had a UK gross of £565,112 and a US gross of $1,544,889. DVD and VHS sales have been quite strong throughout the years, and the film has gained cult status with a number of websites dedicated to the film itself. In 2000, readers of Total Film voted Withnail and I the third greatest comedy film of all time. In 2004 the same magazine named it the 13th greatest British film of all time. Withnail & I was 38th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films poll.

The film holds a 93% "fresh" rating, and an average rating of 8.3 out of 10 from critic website Rotten Tomatoes.[18] In August 2009 The Observer polled 60 eminent British film filmmakers and film critics who voted it the second best British film of the last 25 years.[19] The film was also ranked number 118 in Empire's 500 Greatest Films of all Time list. In 2009 critic Roger Ebert added the film to his "Great Movies" list, describing Grant's performance as a "tour de force" and Withnail as "one of the iconic figures in modern films."[20]

In 2007, a digitally remastered version of the film was released by the UK Film Council. It was shown at over fifty cinemas around the UK on 11 September, as part of the final week of the BBC's "Summer of British Film" season.[21]

British Shoegaze band Ride utilized clips from the movie for their song "Cool Your Boots" from their second album Going Blank Again. The title itself comes from one of Danny's lines who tells Withnail, "Cool your boots, man".

There is a drinking game associated with Withnail and I.[22] The game consists of keeping up, drink for drink, with each alcoholic substance consumed by Withnail over the course of the film.[23][24] All told, Withnail is shown drinking roughly nine and a half glasses of red wine, half a pint of cider, one shot of lighter fluid (vinegar or overproof rum are common substitutes), two and a half shots of gin, six glasses of sherry, thirteen measures of whisky and half a pint of ale.[25]

Withnail and I is referenced in the lyrics of the Kings of Leon song "King of the Rodeo".[26]

In the ITV television series Endeavour Series 2 Episode 1 when Endeavour visits London, there is a plaque on the front of a building stating "R. Duck - Theatrical Agent. 4th Floor". This is a reference to Monty's agent, Raymond Duck, who resided on the 4th floor on the Charing Cross Road. "I remember my first agent. Raymond Duck. A dreadful little Israelite. Four floors up on the Charing Cross Road and never a job at the top of them." - 'Uncle Monty'

In the ITV soap opera Coronation Street during an episode broadcast 1 June 2014, in the aftermath of the attack on Tina MacIntyre, Peter Barlow is sitting on the floor of this flat half drunk. When questioned about his sobriety he replies in a faked drunken slur "I can assure you officer I've only had a few light ales" paraphrasing Withnail's line "I assure you I'm not, Officer. Honestly, I've only had a few ales."

In 2010, McGann said that he sometimes meets viewers who believe the film was actually shot in the 1960s, saying, "It comes from the mid-1980s, but it sticks out like a Smiths record. Its provenance is from a different era. None of the production values, none of the iconography, none of the style remotely has it down as an 80s picture."[27]

A Region-4 DVD was released by Umbrella Entertainment in Australia in 2009 in the form of a 2-disc special edition featuring extras including two audio commentaries and two documentaries Withnail & Us and Postcards from Penrith. The film ran for 107 minutes and was a 16:9 widescreen version.[28] The same firm released the film on Blu-ray in 2010 [29] as well as a cheaper single-disc DVD 'Vanilla' edition (featuring the film but with no extras) in 2012.[30]

Canada

The first DVD edition of the film was a 4:3pan and scan version released in Canada by Seville Pictures. The film ran to 104 minutes. Although the sleeve claimed that the original cinema trailer was included as an extra, it was omitted from the disc. At the time the sleeve was printed, Seville believed they had access to the trailer but later discovered it was not in their library.

The first UK release was by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2001. It included a number of extras, such as the original trailer, the Channel 4 documentary Withnail and Us, a commentary by Paul McGann and Ralph Brown, and a new Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The main feature was converted from the North American release and exhibited some picture and compression artefacts as a result. Like the North American release, it was also letterboxed. This edition was later re-released by Anchor Bay in February 2007.

United Kingdom (2nd Edition)

The second UK release was a budget edition by Anchor Bay in 2005, under their Bay View label. It featured an un-remastered version of the film, identical to the original cinema release in 1987 (later editions of film had several minutes of cut footage reinstated). No extras were included.

United Kingdom (20th Anniversary Edition)

The third UK release, again from Anchor Bay, came in 2006 to coincide with the film's 20th Anniversary. For this three-disc release the film was remastered in high definition and released for the first time in anamorphic. It included all the extra features from the first UK edition, plus an additional commentary by Bruce Robinson, a featurette on the Drinking Game, a brand new interview with Bruce Robinson and a locations featurette called Postcards from Penrith.[31] A bonus CD was also included, featuring all of the music specially composed for the film, because the soundtrack was no longer in print and had become rare.

Free copy

A DVD of the film was given away with the Sunday Times on 14 June 2009 to celebrate 40 years since Robinson first conceived the idea. The Blu-ray trailer was also included.

Germany

One of very few releases (if not the only) of the film outside anglophone countries. The DVD features besides the original English audio track a German dubbed one (stemming from a TV screening from the mid 80s) and several extras from the UK releases, such as the audio commentary by Bruce Robinson.

Download

On 31 July 2007 Channel 4 put the entire film up online as part of their 4oD video-on-demand service. It was available to download free of charge from 4oD until 12 August 2007 after which a fee was chargeable.[32]

The film also features a rare appearance of a recording by The Beatles, whose song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" briefly plays as Marwood and Withnail return to London and find Presuming Ed in the bath. Although the surviving members of the group rarely licensed the use of their original recordings for feature films (cover versions were often substituted, as in the case of The Royal Tenenbaums and I Am Sam), George Harrison was one of the film's producers, and allowed its inclusion in Withnail and I.

There is a misheld belief among some fans of the film that King Curtis was murdered on the night his live performance of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was recorded.[33] Ralph Brown, in the audio commentary on some DVD issues, wrongly states that he was shot in the car park after the concert. Curtis was stabbed to death in August 1971, some five months after the recording was made in March 1971. The recording comes from Curtis's album Live at Fillmore West.[34]

^Jonze, Tim (14 November 2011). "My favourite film: Withnail and I". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2011. I have to confess, I first heard about Withnail and I in terms of a drinking game – could you watch the film while matching the two lead characters shot for shot, pint for pint, Camberwell carrot for Camberwell carrot?